Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to ammunition and more particularly related to a container for supporting a plurality of projectiles such as shot during handling, loading, and subsequent firing of a muzzle loading firearm and the process for loading the firearm using this container.
Description of the Related Art
Muzzle loading firearms such as rifles and pistols have rifled barrels designed for firing single projectiles known as balls or miniballs which require a spin to achieve stable projectile flight. They are not designed for firing a load of shot such as is the case with smooth bore shotguns. Consequently, a hunter who, for example, wishes to shoot doves or clay pigeons as well as deer with a muzzle loading firearm needs to have at least two black powder weapons, e.g. , a rifle and a shotgun.
Muzzle loading firearms, such as rifles, are typically loaded in a three step process which basically involves pouring a charge of black powder down the rifle bore, placing a lubricant patch over the muzzle and then placing a lead ball on the patch, and then ramming the patched ball down the bore with a ramrod to seat the ball against the powder charge. Shotguns, on the other hand, require an extra step in the loading procedure to be followed if the shot is to stay in the gun barrel. First an appropriate charge of black powder is measured and poured into the shotgun barrel. Then a wad is inserted to separate the powder from the charge of shot pellets which is loaded into the barrel next. Finally, a top wad of paper, felt or other material is packed on top of the shot to retain the shot load in place. This top wad must be of proper size or it will either adversely affect the shot pattern or, if too small, permit the shot to roll out the barrel when the shotgun is tilted downward or jolted sufficiently to dislodge the top wad, as might occur during hunting.
There have been a number of cartridges and load container assemblies proposed for speeding up the loading of muzzle loading firearms and improving the consistency between loads. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,050,175; 4,152,858; 4,207,698; 4,373,285; 4,536,983; 4,974,357; and 5,094,024 provide examples of such cartridges and loaders. These patents are directed to the accurate loading of ball and charge in an expeditious and efficient manner. However, the cartridges and loaders described therein are primarily designed for loading single projectiles in rifles or pistols. They do not utilize a carrier for the projectile.
A recent design for a projectile carrier or sabot for a projectile used in a muzzle loading firearm is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,539. This patent discloses a plastic cup shaped carrier formed from two halves which are held together by a fibrous base wad ring. The two halves form a cylindrical cup to receive the rear portion of a generally cylindrical projectile such as a conventional copper jacketed semi-wadcutter bullet. The carrier has an outer body diameter which closely matches the land-to-land diameter of the gun bore. Each of the two halves has a flange around its outer perimeter at the base having a diameter approximately equal to the groove-to-groove diameter which engages the lands and grooves of the rifling in the gun bore. Upon muzzle exit, the two halves are designed to separate and fall away, permitting the projectile to continue down range. One potential disadvantage of this design is that there appears to be nothing to hold the projectile axially in place in the sabot since it is only the perimeter flange that engages the rifling in the bore and not the cup body. Consequently, under a shock load the projectile may be dislodged from the carrier such as would occur if the muzzle of the rifle were dropped or bumped against the ground or other hard surface. Also, there is nothing in the cup to hold the projectile rotationally in place in the carrier during spinup. Consequently the spin on the projectile may be compromised resulting in less accuracy.
Turning now to shotguns, one approach to simplifying the loading process for a muzzle loading shotgun was described in the December 1973 issue of The American Rifleman. In this article, the author suggests forming a shot loader from a Polaroid photograph swab container, a plastic 12-gauge shotgun shell, a conventional 12-gauge shot cup wad, a top wad, and a charge of black powder. The assembled loader has a cylindrical body made out of the shotshell (with the basewad and head removed). A conventional shot container cup/wad containing a shot load is pushed into one end of the shotshell and a top wad placed in the other end. The Polaroid swab container, containing a powder charge, is then slip fit into the other end of the shotshell so that the open end of the swab container presses against the top wad over the shot load. The top wad holds the shot in place and separates the powder from the shot. The open end of the Polaroid container holds the top wad in place in the shotshell. The swab container and the shotshell are then taped together with electrical tape.
The user then loads the shotgun by first removing the cap on the Polaroid swab container and pouring the powder charge into the shotgun barrel. The other end of the loader is then placed over the muzzle so that the base of the shot container cup/wad fits into the bore of the shotgun barrel. The shot container wad, the load of shot, and the top wad are then rammed home against the powder charge via use of a ram rod.
There are several disadvantages with this design. First, the shot load is more voluminous than the volume of the shot cup/wad. Therefore some of the shot can scrape against the barrel during loading and firing of the shotgun. If steel shot is used, as is required today in most locations, this would result in unacceptable wear to the barrel. Second, the over shot or top wad must be correctly sized, i.e. sized to tightly fit into the shotgun bore, or the shot could all fall out the muzzle. Third, the shot is not be positively contained. Finally, this design cannot be used to contain shot loads in rifles and pistols since conventional shotshell cup/wads and casings are not properly sized for most rifle and pistol calibers.